The Game: One of the biggest football rivalries in New England conducts its 27th meeting as Stonehill College heads to Waltham, Mass., to battle Bentley University for a key Northeast-10 Conference football matchup at Bentley University Football Stadium tonight. The Skyhawks are winners of three straight to get off to their best start overall and in Conference play since 2007 after Saturday night's 26-24 victory over Assumption at W.B. Mason Stadium. The Falcons are coming off their bye week after starting their season with a 3-0 clip, 2-0 in NE-10 play after a last minute 21-14 triumph over Assumption in Worcester on September 14.

Media Info: Bentley University is producing a live pay-per-view ($8.00) video webcast of tonight's game via America ONE Sports through www.bentleyfalcons.com, with a link also available through the Stonehill athletics website www.stonehillskyhawks.com. Jacob VanRyn and Roger Crosley have the call for the webcast. WSHL 91.3 FM will be broadcasting the game back to Easton with Craig Riotto and Tim Culverhouse calling the action for the radio broadcast.

Coach to Cure: The American Football Coaches Association is holding its fifth annual Coach to Cure MD to raise awareness and money to fun research for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the most prolific lethal genetic disorder of childhood. During this weekend's games, thousands of AFCA members will be wearing Coach to Cure MD shoulder patches on the sidelines to help raise awareness of the program. This year, Coach to Cure MD will surpass the million dollar mark in donations. Fans can text the word "CURE" to 90999 to donate $5.

Raise Talley's Tally: Fans can now vote for head coach Robert Talley for the NCAA Division II Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year program at coachoftheyear.com. The Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award recognizes college football coaches who demonstrate Sportsmanship, Integrity, Responsibility and Excellence both on and off the field. Endorsed by the College Football Hall of Fame, the program awards one winning coach from each NCAA division (I-FBS, I-FCS, II, and III) with $50,000 to donate to a charity of their choice, a $20,000 grant to each school's alumni association, and the Coach of the Year trophy. Remember to #votetalley every day!

Against the Falcons: Tonight marks the 27th meeting all-time between these two New England Small College rivals. Bentley holds a 20-5-1 advantage in the all-time varsity series between the two teams dating back to 1988. The Falcons have won each of the last two encounters, including a 31-12 victory in Waltham last season. Bentley is 9-2 all-time at home against Stonehill, winning each of the last seven visits by the Skyhawks, including a 27-17 triumph in 2010. Head Coach Robert Talley is 2-4 in his career against the Falcons.

Anderson

Defensive Player of the Week: Stonehill senior cornerback Kevin Anderson (Topsfield, Mass.) has been named the ncaa.com Division II Defensive Player of the Week, Northeast-10 Defensive Player of the Week as well as a Defensive Player of the Week from Beyond Sports Network for his performance in leading Stonehill to a 26-24 victory over Assumption on Saturday night. Anderson matched the program's single-game record for the second time in his career with his three interceptions, returning his third 98 yards for a game-winning touchdown with 6:19 to play. He also finished with three tackles (one solo) and posted a game-high 168 all-purpose yards on the night as he added 49 yards on three kickoff returns to go with his 119 total interception return yardage. All three of his interceptions led to Stonehill points

He's Honored: Sophomore wide receiver Nate Robitaille (Attleboro, Mass.) has been named to the Northeast-10 Conference's weekly honor roll after collecting two touchdown catches for the second straight week to spark the Stonehill offense in its 26-24 win over Assumption last weekend. He had four total receptions for 59 yards.

Skyhawks Going National: Stonehill College and the Northeast-10 announced this summer that its October 18 game against defending NE-10 champion and preseason No. 13 University of New Haven will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network. Kickoff for the contest here at W.B. Mason Stadium is just after 8 p.m. It marks the football team's first national broadcast.

Get Your Tickets!: Stonehill has announced that it will be selling a limited number of advance tickets for its October 18 game against New Haven for $7.00 at its next home game on Saturday, October 13 vs, Merrimack. All tickets for the New Haven game will be $7.00 and must be paid for with cash only. Phone orders for tickets will not be available. Stonehill faculty, staff and student tickets will remain free of charge and ticket distribution for those groups will be announced shortly.

3-and-OH-So Good: Stonehill is off to a 3-0 start in Northeast-10 play for the first time since head coach Robert Talley's first season at the helm in 2007. The Skyhawks started that season with a 4-0 NE-10 clip and 4-1 mark overall.

They Come in Bunches: Senior cornerback Kevin Anderson's (Topsfield, Mass.) eight career interceptions have all come in three games over his career. He matched the program record with three interceptions for the second time against Assumption last weekend after also accomplishing the feat against the Greyhounds as a freshman in 2009. Anderson picked off two passes at Bryant last season give him five pickoffs for his career. He has moved into a tie for seventh on Stonehill's all-time interceptions list with his eight, matching teammate Mickey Miela (Foothill Ranch, Calif.) and Glenn Pafford (1988-91).

Jareed Gaines

Defensive Gaines: Senior defensive back Jareed Gaines (Lumberton, N.J.) leads Stonehill with 44 tackles (28 solo) through the first four weeks of the season. His tackle total is good for second in the NE-10 and 17th nationally in Division II. His 28 solo tackles lead the NE-10 and rank seventh nationally. Gaines also leads the NE-10 with two forced fumbles - good for 12th nationally.

Aye, Aye, Captains: Head Coach Robert Talley named seniors Chris Bolte (OL) and Jareed Gaines (DB) as team captains for the 2012 season after a vote of the returning players last spring.

I Know What You Did This Summer: Senior captain Jareed Gaines (Lumberton, N.J.) competed a summer internship with the Philadelphia Eagles ticket office. He kept a weekly blog, that can be read at www.stonehillskyhawks.com.

Back-to-Back-to-Back: Stonehill captured its third-straight Northeast-10 Presidents' Cup for the 2011-12 academic year, marking the eighth-straight year the Skyhawks have finished in the top three for the final standings. Stonehill captured its fourth Presidents' Cup overall by accumulating a program-best 189.5 points during the academic year to edge second place Southern Connecticut State University (177.0) by over 12 points.

Academic Success: Stonehill College has been recognized for its academic performance with regard to graduation rate by earning a 98-percent Academic Success Rating (ASR) for the second-straight year as released by the NCAA. The ASR considers the academic success rate of the institution based on the graduation rate of student-athletes while also giving credit for any student-athletes that transferred from the institution while in good academic standing. In addition to Stonehill's overall ASR of 98%, ten of Stonehill's 16 athletic programs (cross country and indoor and outdoor track & field are combined by the NCAA) received perfect scores of 100%. Stonehill's 98% ASR ranks second among NE-10 institutions behind just Saint Michael's College (99%) and is tied for third overall in NCAA Division II. The football team maintained an ASR of 96% for the second-straight year - signifigantly higher than the federal rate of 84%.

Getting Social: Fans and media members of Stonehill athletics now have two social media outlets to get updates on all 20 varsity programs. The department's Facebook page is www.facebook.com/stonehillskyhawks, and you can also follow @SkyhawkTalk on Twitter!

On Deck: Stonehill is back on the road next Friday to visit American International College for an NE-10 matchup at 7 p.m. The Skyhawks return home for its last two regular season home games starting when they host Merrimack College for Senior Day on Saturday, October 13, at noon.